Emancipation Day + Election Day

June 13 • 9 a.m.-4 p.m. • All activities included with General Admission

Today is a day to explore civil rights and civic engagement in Iowa’s history. We entered the Union in 1846 as a free state, but our history of rights for African-Americans is much more complicated. The path to rights for women has not been smooth, either. Step back into 1876 and explore who had rights such as voting and owning land 150 years ago.

SCHEDULE

All day:
• Use our family worksheet to dive into the history of Black Iowans, from before statehood through the Civil War and landmark civil rights cases, as you visit our sites.
• Cast your vote for mayor of Walnut Hill at the Kemin Cultivation Center.
• Watch printing of the Gettysburg Address at the Advocate Print Shop and learn about the power of the press in politics.

10 a.m.–2p.m.: Make your own campaign button at the Kemin Cultivation Center.

11:30 a.m.: Slice of History at the MidAmerican Energy Foundation Pavilion. Celebrate Iowa Museum Week with free pizza while it lasts!

Noon: A temperance rally turns into a mayoral debate at the Church of the Land.

1 p.m.: A polite tea turns into a suffrage debate at the Flynn Mansion.

3:30 p.m.: Historic Baseball on the Front Lawn. Free to the public! Bring a chair or a blanket.